With a blank stare, 24-year-old Anthony Comello stood before a judge in Staten Island Criminal Court.
The Eltingville man didn't speak as he was charged with murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon in the shooting death of reputed mob boss Francesco Cali.
But Robert Gottlieb, Comello’s defense lawyer, said plenty afterwards, suggesting Comello was too easily influenced by the things he read on the internet, pointing to that as possible reason for the shooting.
"The hate that’s spewed on the internet by Q-Anon and other right wing conspiracy websites...hate words that have been spewed by citizens, including politicians, including right at the White House—those words matter,” Gottlieb said. “And they have an effect. All of that is going to become much clearer once all the evidence is known and the truth comes out.”
Gottlieb would not say how any of that was to blame for Comello allegedly shooting Cali in front of the reputed crime family boss' Todt Hill home.
Comello was arrested in New Jersey. During an extradition hearing, he had the words "MAGA forever" and "United We Stand" written on his palm, along with a reference to the baseless “Q-Anon” conspiracy theory that a vast international bureaucracy is secretly plotting against President Trump.
Gottlieb told reporters, “What was picked up by the media—that was real. That was real. That was what he wanted to express that day.”
Gottlieb says those who knew Comello well noticed a marked change in him in recent months.
"Something clearly went wrong,” Gottlieb added.
But the lawyer would not say whether Comello had a history of mental illness, even as he asked the judge to allow the suspect to take recently prescribed medications.
He also asked that Comello be held in protective custody, in fear that organized crime may try to retaliate against him.
Comello was ordered held without bail.
The lawyer tells NY1, “[In] a case of any notoriety there’s always that concern and it’s somewhat heightened in this case.”
Comello did not enter a plea, but after he's eventually indicted, his lawyer says he will plead not guilty.
He's due back in court April 3.